On Dropping Out

I just hired an intern who put her undergraduate studies on pause, and she is considering dropping out entirely. We have been discussing whether this is just an internship or if this could be a long-term career. That is for her to figure out. She has to decide whether entrepreneurship is the right path for her. This blog post is an extension of that discussion.

1. School is Broken, But So Is Dropping Out. Here Is What Comes Next.

Right now, a lot of people are asking if school is even worth it. Maybe you have thought about it too. “I should just drop out. AI knows more than my teachers, and school does not teach useful skills anymore.” It is a conversation that is heating up fast, and for good reason.

For decades, school had a clear purpose. It structured knowledge, certified skills, and prepared people for predictable jobs. But in 2025, the world is changing too fast. The economy does not need obedient workers who can memorize and repeat. It needs creative problem-solvers who can wield AI as a tool, not fear it as a replacement.

2. The Two Kinds of People (And Why It Is Not That Simple)

Here’s a gross oversimplication of two archetypes of people:

• The Obedient are the people who follow the traditional script. They get good grades, earn a degree, and get a safe job. They trust the system, and for a long time, this worked. A degree was shorthand for “this person has the minimum viable skills.”
• The Trailblazers are the dropouts who do not buy into the system. Think Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs. They left school and built billion-dollar companies. But here is the thing. Most dropouts are not Zuckerberg. Most do not strike gold and end up living in their parents’ basement - not shame in that.

It is easy to make it sound black and white. Either you are a blind follower or a genius rebel. But that is not how it works. The real question is not “Should I drop out?” It is “Does school still make sense for what I want to do?”

3. How We Got Here: A Crash Course in Learning

To understand where school went wrong, let us rewind:

• Hunter-Gatherer Era was when learning was direct. No classrooms, no textbooks, just real-world survival skills. Your uncle taught you how to track prey. Your mom showed you which mushrooms would not kill you. If you did not learn fast, you died. Simple.
• Agricultural Age was when society became structured. Men became warriors or farmers, women managed homes. Education was still practical, but roles were rigid.
• Industrial Age was when factories needed workers who could follow instructions. Schools shifted to mass-producing disciplined, obedient employees. Memorization became the gold standard. This was the birth of school as we know it.
• Service Age (20th Century to Present) was when jobs got more complex. School became a filter. It was not just about knowledge. It was about proving you could sit still, grind for years, and emerge with a diploma that said, “This person can handle structured work.”

This system made sense in an era where most jobs were predictable. But now, not so much.

4. The Knowledge Age: School’s Identity Crisis

Today, AI can learn faster than any student. If a job is well-defined, like bookkeeping, coding, or even diagnosing diseases, AI will do it better. That is why automation is wiping out predictable jobs, and why people are asking, “What is left for humans?”

The answer is creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability. AI is powerful, but it cannot think outside the box. It does not take risks. It does not create new knowledge. That is still a human advantage.

This shift is why people are ditching school. The old promise, “master a curriculum, get a job,” does not hold up when AI can outlearn experts in seconds. For some, a degree is just a way to make grandma proud.

5. Should You Drop Out?

Dropping out is only smart if you have a real plan. If you are building something profitable, jumping into an industry where skills matter more than credentials, or innovating in AI-driven fields, school might be a waste of time.

But if you do not have a clear direction, dropping out might just leave you stranded. Some careers still need credentials, like medicine, law, and engineering. For now, the system still holds weight in these areas.

The real takeaway? The question is not “Should I drop out?” but “What am I doing that AI cannot?” If school helps you answer that, stay. If it does not, leave.

6. The Future of Jobs: More Work, Not Less

People love to panic about job losses. But the truth is AI is not just replacing jobs. It is creating new ones at an insane rate.

• LLM Wrappers will be everywhere. Every app, service, and website could be improved with AI integration, but most are not. Look at your phone. How many apps actually use AI to their full potential? Almost none. Someone has to build this.
• Biosignal Tech is expanding. Garmin watches already track fitness, but in the future, AI will analyze everything. Your sleep, stress levels, gut health, even how efficiently your body absorbs nutrients. Imagine toilets that analyze your urine and blood sugar in real time. Sound crazy? It is coming.
• Industry-Specific AI Models are necessary. Every industry, from mining to healthcare, will need its own specialized AI. It is not just about using ChatGPT. Companies will need tailored models trained on their unique data.

The old jobs are fading, sure. But new ones? They are limitless. The world does not need more people who can memorize answers. It needs people who can create new ones.

7. The Bottom Line

School is not useless, but it is not the only path anymore. If you are disciplined, adaptable, and willing to learn, you can outpace traditional education by using AI as your tutor, business partner, and research assistant.

The future belongs to those who build, not just those who obey.

So, should you stay in school? There is no universal answer. But one thing is certain. The system is not coming back. The only real question is, are you evolving with it?